Family Fun

My parents and sister came to visit for a week, and we had a ton of fun! I only get to see them a couple times a year, and it's been a long time since my sister and I have been able to be in the same place at the same time, so it was really special to have all four of us in the same place for a time of exploration and fun. Here is a brief overview of our week:

We were at the mall and met a lady who's husband runs the carousel in the park in downtown Salem. She called over and got us a free ride, and it was way more fun than we anticipated! They had a game where the outside riders could try and hook these rings on your fingers as you went by a certain spot, and if you got a gold one, you won a free ride. Somehow I won two :).

My dad is in the rodeo! Giddyup!

Our first full day was a big circle around Mt. Hood. We went up to Multnomah Falls, over to Cascade Locks and Hood River, and then around the east side and up to Timberline Lodge and back home. We google-mapped it and it came out to over 5 hrs of driving! This is Multnomah Falls, which is often on calendars.

Mark, Jess, Bethany, and Mom at Multnomah Falls.

Dad at Mt. Hood. We were lucky and the clouds parted for a view of the mountain!

This is a view of Mt. Hood from Trillium Lake near Government Camp, OR.

Our next full day was spent at Silver Falls State Park. We saw 9 out of 10 of the waterfalls. By the time we realized we missed one, we were too tired to go back :). This was a 4-5 mile hike day and oh-so-beautiful. The falls in the picture is South Falls.

Wednesday we hit the coast at Newport, OR. It was raining pretty steadily in the morning, and as we dried out at lunch, the rain stopped and we had a dry, but cloudy and cool, afternoon.

We climbed the lighthouse at Yaquina Head. I think it has about 114 steps.

We also saw some tide-pools, sea lions, and harbor seals. Mark climbed out on a rock when we were tide-pooling. We didn't see anything too crazy, but there were plenty of sea anemones and and starfish.

My sister and I "shopping." No, we didn't bring the hats home :).

Family photo! The first one we've had in a long time!

My dad is a gardener, and he helped make my garden awesome. We planted my tomato plants, zucchini, cucumber, and peppers, and he helped me stake out a trellis for the cucumbers and the cages for the tomatoes and zucchini. I even got a few ripe strawberries!

mmm...yum! Fresh from the garden!